Discovered: A sunken island, an Indian Ocean Atlantis?

Godavaya, Sri Lanka: 14 March 2009: Marine archaeologists have just discovered evidence of a large submerged landmass southeast of Sri Lanka. They believe it could be a legendary lost island closely linked to the culture and history of Sri Lankan people.

The discovery was made by a team of Dutch and Sri Lankan scientists based on satellite maps and underwater sample extractions from the deep sea. Preliminary data need to be verified by a deep sea submersible expedition during 2009 - 2010, according to a member of the research team who did not want to be identified.

The landmass is estimated to be between 450,000 and 475,000 square kilometres, which is about seven times the total land area of Sri Lanka.

This could well be the long lost island of Irisiyawa, which is euphemistically mentioned in our chronicles and hinted at in the writings of Greek historians, said Dr Godwin Samarawickrama, a maritime historian at the Indian Ocean Institute based in Melacca, Malaysia.

He added: The existence of such an island has been speculated and talked in hush-hush terms among divers and archaeologists for decades. This is the Indian Ocean`s own version of Atlantis!

Irisiyawa`s existence is first mentioned in the Sri Lankan chronicle of Culavamsa. Sinhalese Sandesa (message poem) writers in the 14th to 16th centuries often refer to the enormous psychological effect by sunken Irisiyawa on royal families, aristocracy and ordinary people. Some say the legacy of Irisiyawa has continued well into the twenty first century.

Other experts are more sceptical, and point out long-standing speculations about Kumari Kandam, a legendary sunken landmass said to have been located to the south of present-day Kanyakumari District at the southern tip of India. Some also call it Lemuria, a continent that existed in ancient times and sank beneath the ocean as a result of a geological, often cataclysmic, change. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims.

Sri Lanka must quickly assert its historical and territorial claims over the newly discovered sunken island, said Gajaba Vidyadheera, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Peradeniya. If not, other countries and cultures can stake their own claims, leading to disputes and even international litigation.

But the marine archaeology team who made the discovery advise caution. We need much more evidence before even considering any claims, and historical and cultural speculation could only muddy the deep waters, said a Dutch member of the team, none of who would make any statement on the record.

In recent years, much evidence has been found of maritime activity in and off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. In late 2008, an underwater search of the seas around Godavaya, Hambantota district, carried out by the Central Cultural Fund, revealed the wreck of a ship, possibly dating back to the 1st Century AD. If confirmed, this could be the oldest shipwreck in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka with its 65,610 square kilometres is currently ranked at No 121 out of 231 countries and territories according to their land area. If the estimated landmass of submerged Irisiyawa is added, this would immediately boost Sri Lanka`s ranking to around 50, comparable to that of Thailand with 513,120 sq km.

The archipelago nation of Maldives, which lies to the southwest of Sri Lanka, has only 298 sq km and ranks No 201, the smallest country in Asia.

Atlantis is a legendary island mentioned by Greek philosopher Plato. While no hard evidence for its existence has yet been found, it has fascinated many historians, writers and explorers for centuries.

This sunken continent (Kumari Kandam) is the homeland of Tamils. Sri Lanka is a remnant of that continent. Sinhalese are invaders from North India.

Kumari Kandam (-2965 -3009 -2990 -2992 -3007 -2965 -3021 -2965 -2979 -3021 -2975 -2990 -3021 Kumarikka-7751 -7789 am) is the name of a legendary sunken landmass said to have been located to the south of present-day Kanyakumari District at the southern tip of India in the Indian Ocean. The legend assigns the continent and its final submergence an antiquity ranging in tens of thousands of years

The Legend in Tamil Literature
There are scattered references in Sangam literature, such as Kalittokai 104, to how the sea took the land of the Pandiyan kings, upon which they conquered new lands to replace those they had lost.

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There are also references to the rivers Pahruli and Kumari, that are said to have flowed in a now-submerged land.

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The Silappadhikaram, a 5th century epic, stating that the 'cruel sea' took the Pandiyan land that lay between the rivers Pahruli and the many-mountained banks of the Kumari, to replace which the Pandiyan king conquered lands belonging to the Chola and Chera kings (Maturaikkandam, verses 17-22). Adiyarkkunallar, a 12th century commentator on the epic, explains this reference by saying that there was once a land to the south of the present-day Kanyakumari , which stretched for 700 kavatams from the Pahruli river in the north to the Kumari river in the south.

This land was divided into 49 nadu, or territories, which he names as seven coconut territories (elutenga natu), seven Madurai territories (elumaturai natu), seven old sandy territories (elumunpalai natu), seven new sandy territories (elupinpalai natu), seven mountain territories (elukunra natu), seven eastern coastal territories (elukunakarai natu) and seven dwarf-palm territories (elukurumpanai natu). All these lands, he says, together with the many-mountained land that began with KumariKollam, with forests and habitations, were submerged by the sea.

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. Two of these Nadus or territories were supposedly parts of present-day Kollam and Kanyakumari districts.

They believe it could be a legendary lost island closely linked to the culture and history of Sri Lankan people.

Mmmm.. There is no such a thing in the Mahawamsa, however there is lot of references to this sunken land in the Sangam literrature. Since 4 years, I'm telling this.. I know for sure that it is not an imaginary story.

It is the homeland of the Tamil people, the ancient Pandyan kingdom.
Glad to see that scientists read my postings :))
I was saying that they should explore the oceans in the Indian ocean, specially around Sri Lanka only few years ago, and they did it !

Now, this confirms that the Sri Lankan anti-Tamil racists, who said that we invaded 'their' lands in the 13th century were wrong from the beginning ! Irony of the story , there is no mention in the Mahawamsa, but only in the Sangam literrature..... For sure, and slowly, the whole Truth will come out from the sea.

Sad story, Tamils are made second class citizens , put in army controlled camps, live in huts in their homeland, and are daily being shelled by the Sri Lankan army who want subjugate the Tamils !

I will never forgive Sri Lanka , specially the whole Sinhala community for letting this massacre with impunity, no condemnation.

The Sinhala community, abroad and in the island, is silent. Their silent is highly symbolic. In the name of finishing off LTTE, thousands of innocent children, babies, eldery persons, mothers and fathers have been killed. Worst, they justify the killings of innocents saying that LTTE are keeping them as human shield.

Since 58, the Tamil community in Sri Lanka is being erased - destroyed by the majority , be it physically or culturally.

I have faith in the universal judge, whose Laws are Karma and Dharma. Expect a massive destruction in Sri Lanka, in the near future, that's the only thing I can predict. I bet another natural catastrophe will hit Sri Lanka.